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Elizabeth Cady Stanton Has Found Her Place In My Needlework Plans

I did it! I stitched a tiny face for a portrait of Elizabeth Cady Stanton on her needle book.

I've struggled all the way through this, stitch rip, rip, rip, stitch stitch, rip and rip some more, but I think I finally have it!

I am happy to report I am past my rip rip rip stages. I am still waiting for hair threads and then I will finish Mrs. Stanton.

In the words of Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Here is the quote that led me to decide Elizabeth Cady Stanton needed a needle book in her honor:

·Woman has relied heretofore too entirely for her support on the needle - that one-eyed demon of destruction that slays thousands annually; that evil genius of our sex, which, in spite of all our devotion, will never make us healthy, wealthy, or wise.

More words of Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Whatever the theories may be of woman's dependence on man, in the supreme moments of her life, he cannot bear her burdens. In the tragedies and triumphs of human experience, each mortal stands alone.

The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls.  

Working on an Alphabet

From those of you who stitch samplers, I sometimes hear that you think alphabets are boring. As the designer of a sampler, alphabets can be one of the challenging elements and such is certainly the case with this sampler. I wanted the alphabet to be balanced between the left and right sides of the sampler so I had quite a bit of work to do. Happily the alphabet fits now and is stitched into place.

Beginnings

The Samplers

Quite by accident I came across two barely-started samplers and I bought them on a lark. My original plan was to keep the originals as is, but invent what I thought they might look like had the girl finished them.

The more I thought about it, the more boring I thought that would be; instead I thought of the date, 1840 and I began to look up what happened in 1840 and also in the 1840's, and the first thing I found was that Elizabeth Cady married Henry Stanton in 1840.

And Seneca Falls was in 1848.

I have been on an undiluted Elizabeth Cady Stanton kick ever since. My first thought: to see if I could make a tiny portrait of her. I did it. It took me 3 weeks, countless little drawing, 6 doodles and two tries and I am happy to say, I have my little portrait.

From Elizabeth Cady Stanton's own words, I knew she would not like it, but then my friend Zeena wrote to me and told me expressly that she didn't think ECS would care.

I knew I wanted to make a Needle Book for ECS's One-Eyed Demons of Destructions (scroll down to see the quote.

Oops

I started reading a lot about ECS and found out in today's world she is quite controversial. It is always helpful to have guidance from my resident historian who said to me, 'and you don't think she was controversial or complicated in her own time?'

My Plans

I like hearts and geometrics and portraits and little ornaments and box tops, but when all is said and done, my heart belongs to making samplers and so here I go!

I started with a basic drawing and my first task, just like my barely started sampler of 1840, is to make a border around the design. I've started the border and now I am working on an alphabet across the top.

Step by Step by Step

It will take me a long time to do this sampler but I hope you will follow along. I don't really have anything I need to do right now, and I am excited about seeing if it works.

If it does work, I have a wish and a dream for it. So if it works and I am proud of it, I will tell you my wish and dream. But not until the end.

September 24

September 21